Meet Robert Redford's forgotten first wife — the college dropout who supported him in a tiny New York apartment

Robert married his first wife, Lola, in 1958 when they were both in their early 20s. At the time, the couple only had $300 in their bank account and even had to borrow a car to get home from the Las Vegas ceremony.

Lola, who was raised Mormon, briefly attended Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah before marrying Robert and moving to New York City. During the early years of their marriage, Lola and Robert endured significant personal loss and financial struggles in New York while Robert was an unknown, struggling artist studying at the Pratt Institute and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

While she dropped out of college to move to NYC in the late '50s, Lola is well educated. In 1982, she graduated from Vermont College. Two years later, she earned her master's degree in public history at New York University. And in 1994, Lola completed her Ph.D in American history.

Her alma mater awarded her the Distinguished Alumni/Alumnae Achievement Award from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at NYU in 2012.

The date of Lola and Robert's divorce was never made public, but they separated in the mid-'80s after 20 years together. Even though their romantic relationship ended, the two stayed in each other's lives until Robert's passing.

"It was mutual and it was right to move on. We still have great love, great affection, great friendship. It is wonderful, and I think we probably deserve credit for it because the kids are great, they came through it OK," Robert told The Telegraph in 2001. "I never wanted to be one of those divorced showbusiness casualties - so predictable! I wanted to prove that a marriage could last and prove the business wrong. But I couldn't."

Robert and Lola became parents when they were just 21 and 20. The two welcomed their son, Scott in 1959. Tragically, the newborn died of sudden infant death syndrome a few months after he was born.

"It was really hard," Robert recalled to AARP Magazine in 2011. "We were very young. I had my first theater job, which didn't pay much. We didn't know anything about SIDS, so the only thing you think is that you've done something wrong. As a parent, you tend to blame yourself. That creates a scar that probably never completely heals."

In 1960, the couple welcomed daughter Shauna Jean, who grew up to be an artist and married Fast Food Nation author, Eric Schlosser. Two years later in 1982, Lola gave birth to their second son, David James "Jamie." Jamie lived most of his adult life with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a disease that affects the liver and bile ducts. He received two liver transplants and started a nonprofit to educate the public about organ donation. In 2020, at 58, Jamie passed away from bile-duct cancer while awaiting a third transplant.

Robert and Lola's youngest child, Amy Hart, was born on October 22, 1970. She has since built a career in filmmaking and has directed films, TV episodes, and music videos.

In 2002, almost two decades after she and Robert divorced, Lola married George Burrhill, the founder of the international development firm ARD. The couple is heavily involved in international nonprofits and fundraising, with Lola serving on several nonprofit boards over the years.

Lola, now 87, has also joined the film industry, executive producing two films, Lowell Thomas: The American Storyteller, The State of Marriage, and Miss America: A Documentary Film.